Master of the End Times

“Are they going to come up as well?” Qin Feng asked.

A bonehead teammate was more untolerable than the most formidable opponent.

It would be a pain in the ass if they did want to tag along.

“Perhaps not.” Liu Zhensan was uncertain.

Qin Feng nodded. That would be the best. He turned to the other three and admonished, “Some commoners might join us later. Do your best to protect them then.”

“Leave it to us. Anyhow, it’s our duty as aptitude users to protect the weak. With great power comes great responsibility.” Wang Chen snorted rather sarcastically. He, too, actually did not wish to have so many commoners around.

Qin Feng was even more reluctant but it could not be helped. After all, this place was the patrol unit leader of Han Town, Liu Xue’s birthplace. If such a tragedy were to befall Chengbei colony, he would have done the same for his kins.

Such was the unpredictable fate of humanity in this turbulent era. Qin Feng decided that he would do what he could to help.

“Uncle Liu, let’s collect the stuff from the storeroom next door.” Qin Feng said.

Liu Zhensan agreed immediately. The items inside that room were worth at least a few tens of millions. He would love to hoard back as many valuables as possible.

Fortunately, the three spatial runes he carried with him had enough space to fill most of the expensive beast materials. He did not take any of the guns as he knew that those would be their lifeline in the upcoming survival battle. It would be distributed out to everyone later.

In the past life, the ammunition supply was what had helped them to escape Han Town safely.

Qin Feng watched as Liu Zhensan collected the valuables. After the latter finished packing, Qin Feng walked out and commanded He Ling and Zhao Xiang to prepare sandbags and carried it to the second floor to barricade the windows and hallways. They set up the proper defense and sprayed monster repellants all over the floor to leave only a narrow path.

Once they had completed the setup, Qin Feng went back down to the underground parking lot through the secured exit.

The parking lot was in a mess. He was met by a brownish larva of ten-meter-long the moment he opened the door.

It was a plow worm!

“Fire Beam!”

Qin Feng triggered his consciousness and a dark-red laser beam was immediately unleashed. The beam sent the plow worm flying and blasted it into pieces.

Plow worms were a giant earthworm-like creature. They liked to hide underneath humid land and would normally break through the ground to attack their prey.

The danger level of a plow worm was determined based on its size. S-tier plow worms were probably as gigantic as a real dragon. One single turn might lead to a massive earthquake if such a creature really existed.

The one Qin Feng came across was a G5-tier. There was nothing to be worried about.

Of course, there would be no escape if the one that opened the door just now was a random commoner.

Qin Feng walked toward the iron door of the basement.

“Liu Xue, open the door. I am here to bring you all up.” Qin Feng contacted Liu Xue through the communicator.

Liu Xue opened the door from inside and a foul stench instantly leaked out from the room. Qin Feng furrowed his eyebrows.

That was to be expected when twenty nervous people were cramped inside a small room. Some men were even smoking in there. The vent only drew in oxygen and provided little to no circulation to the room.

“How is it out there?”

“Are the insectoids still rampaging?”

“Have you guys sorted out the defensive unit?”

Numerous questions were shot at Qin Feng before Liu Xue could say anything.

Qin Feng looked at the eager citizens that approached him tensely and took a step back. “You guys should have already been informed of the condition out there through the communicator. What different news do you expect me to bring?”

The people inside the basement were silenced and turned grim. They had, of course, learned about the latest development distributed through the communicator.

They just refused to believe that Han Town was destroyed this quickly and unpredictably.

The defense team had gone separate ways too. They were running together with everyone during the invasion and only a few had stayed back to slightly stall the insectoid waves.

“Don’t worry. Hasn’t Coldstorm announced that they are going to come and save us? I believe a lot of aptitude users have answered the call and are on their way to Han Town now. We only need to endure for a few more days!” Liu Xue tried to console the town folks.

“I don’t know when your savior will arrive but one thing is certain—We have a beast king hanging around just about three hundred meters from here.” Qin Feng broke the news coldly.

Fear and panic instantly filled the room. That was exactly the impact Qin Feng wished to see.

“It’s too crowded here. Some people have to come with me to the safe house. Don’t worry, I will ensure your safety out there,” Qin Feng instructed.

But it sounded like a lame joke in those people’s ears. ‘How are you going to protect us when a beast king is loitering nearby?’

“I am going with you. I want to stay by my hubby’s side no matter what,” Qiao Yan walked out and said. She was a lady boss with great life experience. Her instinct told her that Qin Feng was a man of his words.

If he claimed he could protect them, then he was going to bet his life on the line.

“Lady boss, I am going with you as well.”

“Bring me too!”

Qiao Yan’s workers—three men and one woman—had stood out as well.

That made six of them including Liu Xue.

“But then…” Liu Xue was worried that even if the others would be safe hiding down in the basement, the food supply might not last.

Qiao Yan pushed Liu Xue out of the basement before she finished her sentence.

“Anyone else?” Qin Feng asked once again.

They avoided eye contact and said nothing.

The basement was not a public area but a private property that belonged to Liu Zhenshan. It had limited space and they would be more comfortable with the six people gone. The outside world was extremely dangerous now and any misstep would spell instant death. Hence, most of them were more willing to stay behind the steel door.

“Then you are on your own now!”

Qin Feng left those words and led the six out of the room. Those who remained in the room wasted no time and shut the door behind them instantly.

“Those people are horrible. It’s supposed to be our hotel’s basement!”

The twenty-ish girl that tagged along said angrily. The uninvited guests had been feasting and had turned the underground into a smokehouse ever since they arrived. Not only that but some of the guys had not been kind and friendly toward them. This had more or less startled the lady.

In comparison, Qin Feng appeared to be more dependable and trustworthy.

“Well, we have gone our separate ways now. It’s their choice to stay put.” Qin Feng showed little pity and guided the group back to the temporary safe house.

Insectoids had stopped coming through the rift but Han Town had already crumbled under the beasts’ ferocious assaults. Those who made it out alive were perhaps less than ten percent of the original population.

The patrol unit responsible to recapture Han Town was none other than Coldstorm battalion. The general in charge was just a mere G7-tier ancient warrior. He was helpless in the face of the insectoids that were hundreds of times greater than his troop in size. They needed to wait for at least another day until the nearest reinforcement could reach them.

As such, night had promptly landed on the town that was left with nothing but despair.

***

The city was still at one midnight. Even so, the occasional humming noise made by the worms had the survivors trembling in fear. Without maintenance, the city had run out of power and was soon consumed by pitch-black darkness.

Inside the forge, Liu Zhenshan was sweating with excitement.

“It’s done!”

The mold in his hand opened up and the weapon in it gleamed brilliantly.